April 28, 2008
Mark your calendars now for the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Committee’s Mid-Year Meeting, to be held September 16-18, 2008 at the Beckman Center in Irvine, California. The purpose of the meeting is to identify critical traveler information research and policy issues, and offer recommendations towards the goal of collecting and disseminating traveler information on all roads and on all modes, all of the time.
The meeting will bring together traveler information researchers, policy-makers, public- and private-sector service providers, transportation network managers, and modelers to document current knowledge and identify research and policy needs.
Jane Lappin of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center chairs the meeting planning committee, and welcomes additional volunteers to help plan the meeting. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact her at lappin@volpe.dot.gov. IBEC members from around the world are needed to help shape this exciting event, so please contact Jane today.
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Posted by croutd
April 24, 2008
The National Rural ITS Conference to be held in September 3-5, 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska, is seeking international representatives to speak at the Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) Track to talk about their projects, applications, challenges and experiences especially on Truck/Train applications and Ice Road management. Other topics and ideas are more than welcome.
The track will feature Future of Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) Safety, Florida’s Smart Roadside Program and other international experiences.
The conference has session and training topics range from the traditional (road weather information systems, CVO applications, etc.) to the innovative (climate change impacts, Native American transportation issues).
If you would like to participate at the CVO Track at this conference, please contact Patty Del Pozo at pdelpozo@itsa.org or at 202-721-4238. For additional information on the conference, please visit www.nritsconference.org.
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Posted by croutd
April 22, 2008
The Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations will host the National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) web cast, “Active Traffic Management Coming to the Urban Partners’ Cities: Minneapolis and Seattle” on April 30 from 12:30-2:00 PM (ET). This webinar will provide an overview of Active Traffic Management (ATM) and the highlights of the ATM components in the Minneapolis and Seattle Urban Partnership Agreement projects.
ATM is the ability to dynamically manage recurrent and non-recurrent congestion based on prevailing traffic conditions with the focus on trip reliability. It increases throughput and safety through the use of integrated systems with new technology, including the automation of dynamic deployment to optimize performance quickly. This congestion management approach consists of a combination of operational strategies that, when implemented in concert, fully optimize the existing infrastructure and provide measurable benefits to the transportation network and the traveling public.
Speakers
- Overview of Active Traffic Management – Jessie Yung, FHWA Office of Operations
- TBD, Minnesota Department of Transportation
- Active Traffic Management Coming to the Central Puget Sound – Ted Trepanier, Washington Department of Transportation
Registration is available at the NTOC web site: https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/webconference/web_conf_learner_reg.aspx?webConfID=14088
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Posted by croutd
April 11, 2008
The Consortium for ITS Training and Education (CITE) and the FHWA Office of Safety have released an interactive web-based course entitled “Improving Highway Safety with ITS.” This course aims to increase awareness of the benefits to be gained through the deployment of ITS for highway safety applications.
This blended course is designed to assist professionals in both the highway safety and ITS communities. Participants may be planners, operators, designers, or maintenance personnel. These may be for example, the employees of, or contractors for, State departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and city and county agencies. The course activities will draw on attendee’s experience, expectations, and contributions. Because an underlying objective is to foster cooperation among the Safety and ITS communities, it is critical that both be well represented during the course offering. This blended version of the course has the same content as the NHI classroom version, only it is converted to an on-line format and the participant activities had to be modified to fit this type of course presentation. A complete outline of the course can be found at http://www.citeconsortium.org/courses/HighwaySafety-blended.html.
The instructor for this course is Dr. Emily Parkany, P.E., PTOE, a Principal Transportation Engineer at Noblis in Washington, DC. Emily’s PhD is from the University of California, Irvine, where she studied Transportation Science. She also has degrees from MIT and Columbia University. Prior to joining Noblis, she was an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and at Villanova University.
This blended course begins on May 2nd and continues through June 23, 2008. The fee for the course is $250 and students can register by going to the CITE web site at http://www.citeconsortium.org. For more information, contact Denise Twisdale at mztwiz@umd.edu or 301-403-4592.
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Posted by croutd
April 9, 2008
The Oregon Department of Transportation is seeking innovative ways to help improve traffic flow throughout the state. Public agencies, and groups working in partnership with them, are invited to apply for $8 million in funding for projects that demonstrate solutions for reducing congestion and improving freight mobility on the Oregon state highway system. Ideal projects will offer both operational benefits and transferability to other areas.
“Oregon is well-known for leading the way in transportation innovation,” said Gail Achterman, chair of the Oregon Transportation Commission. “ODOT is launching the ‘Transportation Operations Innovation and Demonstration Program’ to encourage this spirit in addressing our growing traffic congestion problems. It is our hope that project concepts and technologies funded by this program form the basis for real world solutions to Oregon’s transportation challenges.”
The types of projects expected to be funded through this program include both new technology and process changes to improve the operation of the transportation system. Example project areas include, but are not limited to, improvements to traffic signal or freeway operations, traveler information systems, incident management, or ramp metering.
Applications will be accepted from Oregon public agencies. Private entities and non-profit organizations are encouraged to work with public agencies to identify and develop innovative project concepts. Grants will be awarded in amounts of $50,000 to $2 million for projects that can be completed in the 2008 – 2011 timeframe. Applications are available online at http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/ITS/its_news_events.shtml and must be received by June 30, 2008. For more information about the project, contact Galen McGill, Intelligent Transportation Systems manager, at (503) 986-4486.
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Posted by hau
April 7, 2008
The presentations from the March 27th panel discussion sponsored by ITS Washington are now available from the ITS Washington web site. The session was titled “Congestion Mitigation, Tolling, and Active Traffic Management: Where are we heading in the Puget Sound area?”
Access the presentation at: http://depts.washington.edu/itswa/present_2008.html.
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Posted by croutd
